Scientific research has shown that mosquitoes bite some people more than others for several reasons, including the smells that those people give off, the chemicals on those people's skin and even how much carbon dioxide they emit while breathing. Experts estimate that mosquitoes are highly attracted to about 10 percent of all people, with those people's genetics accounting for about 85 percent of their attractiveness to mosquitoes. Other research suggests that people who are less attractive to mosquitoes emit smells and chemicals that repel the insects. As of 2012, there still was much that was not known about why mosquitoes bite some people more than others and what the people who are bitten more can do about it.

Why Mosquitoes Bite

Only female mosquitoes bite people. They do it for the blood, which contains protein and nutrients that they need either to produce eggs at all or to produce a larger batch of eggs. Before each time they produce a batch of eggs, they will seek out a blood meal. For regular meals, they feed on nectar and other juices produced by plants.

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Finding Prey

A female mosquito begins locating prey by detecting carbon dioxide, which is emitted by animals when they exhale and through their skin. The mosquito uses an antenna-like structure called a maxillary palp to detect carbon dioxide from as far as 164 feet (50 m) away. At closer distances, it uses a feathery antenna to identify certain chemicals, and its nose is perforated with many tiny holes that the odors in the air can penetrate. After the mosquito has found a concentration of carbon dioxide being emitted by a person, the mosquito's sensory receptors tell it whether the combination of chemicals and odors being emitted by that person make him or her suitable prey.

Substances That Attract

Research suggests that, in addition to carbon dioxide, some of the substances that people produce and that attract mosquitoes are sweat, lactic acid, uric acid and a chemical called octenol. Lactic acid is emitted through the skin, especially during exercise. Uric acid is a product of the body metabolizing certain proteins, and most of it is excreted in urine, but excess uric acid can build up under the skin. Octenol is present in a person's sweat and breath.

Some people produce greater quantities of these substances, so mosquitoes bite some people more than others. Very large people and pregnant women generally breathe out more carbon dioxide, so they tend to be bitten more often. People who exercise outdoors produce more lactic acid, sweat more and breathe more heavily, so they also tend to suffer more mosquito bites. Many perfumes and deodorants that people to mask their natural body odors also are believed to be attractive to mosquitoes.

Substances that Repel

Commercial mosquito repellants contain various chemicals — such as N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide, better known as DEET — that are believed to turn away mosquitoes by masking the user's body chemicals or by inhibiting the insects' sensory organs. Some research suggests, however, that certain substances already found on certain people's skin make those people less attractive to mosquitoes. Two such chemicals are known as geranyl acetone and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one. Scientists have looked into the origin of these chemicals — namely, whether they are produced by the body, obtained from the environment or a combination of those methods. The existence of these chemicals found on some people's skin suggests that mosquitoes bite some people more than others not only because some people are more attractive to mosquitoes, but also because some people naturally repel them.

Discuss this Article

My dad told me eating spicy food can help repel mosquitoes. He says your body has a smell that mosquitoes are able to smell, and it's a bad smell to them.

anon954645Post 129

One thing to do if you do get bitten by mosquitoes is to use a small amount of hydrocortisone cream on the spots right away.

I used to get bitten a lot and would suffer for a week or more from the horrible itch. If you put the hydrocortisone cream on as soon as you can, the swelling goes down and they don't itch anymore.

anon350001Post 128

Garlic does help a little, but the problems are the side effects. I have anemia and it makes me dizzy and nauseated. I have noticed If I eat too much garlic I don't get many mosquito bites, but if I am clean and smell good and haven't eaten any spicy food, they swarm at me.

I had dengue before and it was horrible and painful. It was like half of my head was going to explode in pain and my right ear felt like it was being drilled and all my joints were swollen and very painful. I couldn't even close my hands. I had red dots all over me that turned into welts the next day, plus the high

fever. I read the second time would be even worse, as the antibody that developed in me will not help but would worsen the dengue virus.

My other problems are the fire ants in the whole infested building of the apartments I live in, and the ticks on the dogs belonging to an irresponsible neighborhood. I don't have money to move out so I have to live with this problem and deal with it. But it also costs me a lot because I am buying a lot of insecticide and stuff for killing these insects. I am also the only one who tries to clean some hallways. I hate all insects and I hate my whole nasty neighborhood.

I get bit just walking from my house to my car and my bites swell and itch and are quite severe. I started using that Avon Skin So Soft. It really really works. You can get it online for about $7-8.

anon345309Post 122

If I get bit, and it swells up to the size of the palm of a 5-7 year old's hand, then it means I'm allergic, right? I'm surprised at how much I get bitten in Mexico, whereas on the West coast of the U.S.A., I hardly ever got bitten. Here in Mexico its really ridiculous how easily I can get bitten just by wearing shorts in my home (there are cracks and open small spaces in the home where mosquitoes can fly into the home). If anybody can answer my first sentence I wrote, than thank you. It's appreciated.

anon282324Post 120

I got bitten a lot when was eating like 30 candies a day. That's why I'm trying to lower my blood sugar.

anon280688Post 119

Glad to find this article. It makes sense and confirms what I've always believed- that some people (me) just attract mosquitoes. I never use the same detergent, and I don't wear perfume, yet I am always a target.

One summer evening, years ago, I was on a date eating ice-cream outside of Dairy Queen. We were both wearing shorts, sitting very close together. I went home and realized the mosquitoes made a feast of me. I had well over 60 bites while he had not one. It was insane. Oatmeal baths and calamine were the only way I could cope with the itching! Nowadays, I douse myself in bug spray but bugs still get me. At any given time, I have 5 to 10 itchy spots.

anon279822Post 118

I literally never used to get bit. I went camping when I was 12 with school and they were all complaining about mosquitoes and I wasn't being bit at all. However, last summer, at camp, there were a lot of bugs and I seemed to get bit more than every else (who were getting bit as well, just not as much). Also, this summer, I seem to getting bit a lot for some reason.

anon276977Post 117

I have no idea if this has any scientific backup at all, but among all people that I know and ask the same people who get bit a lot by mosquitoes, don't get ticks and vice versa.

I attract mosquitoes like crazy but never had a tick in my life.

If this is not all coincidence, may it be that the two key in on different smells and blood types?

anon262185Post 115

They like to bite near my joints, and it cause the allergic reaction but worse since I have such conditions as gout, arthritis and lupus. Several bites on my ankles leave me with swollen ankles to the point it hurts to walk.

I find that on days I brush my teeth before going out, I do not get a lot of bites on my face or neck. It could be the CO2 (carbon dioxide) theory and perhaps my genes. I do not remember getting bitten by bugs so much when I was younger, but now that I have these rheumatic issues and low iron and low immune and blood disorders, they are so much more a problem. I know my

body does not have the immunity like before.

For instance, working in the medical field, you need to have all three hepatitis B shots up to date. I had the three series of shots in the 90's, and now my body shows no immunity to Hepatitis B. I had to do the three series of shots all over again this past year. Your body should recognize the immunization so it can identify it whenever you are exposed, but my body (DNA) lost the "code". I think it is a bigger problem than researchers and medical professions give it. Especially the malaria factor in their bites.

The medical community perhaps do not get bitten as much with the same issues, but for many of us it is a problem!

I have no idea what causes this but I don't think it has anything to do with blood. When I was younger I used to never get bit by anything. I grew up camping and loved being outside.

My friends and I go night fishing and I can't even sit still for that hour right when the sun goes down and all the bugs come out. They all laugh because they never get bit but those suckers will bite right through my clothes. I even recently had two separate times that I've come home with a tick on me.

Once again I never ever had a tick and I used to run through corn fields by my house. It's frustrating but it has to be something in my diet, a hygiene product, or a medication. Something is causing this!

anon108528Post 112

Makes sense some of us give off chemicals that repel mosquitoes and some of us don't. It's natural selection. As in how some people carry genes that kills the malaria virus and some don't. This is needed in some areas, like parts of Africa, for the people to even survive or malaria would wipe them out.

Same thing goes for the Black Plague. A third of the population was killed, but the survivors carried a gene, I think it's called Delta 32, that destroyed the sickness. Without that gene everyone would have died. Therefore, mosquitoes carry diseases which are a threat to humans, and if everyone in the world couldn't repel mosquitoes in some way, if everyone in the world

didn't carry a gene for it that they could pass to their young for generations and generations of human survival, then some parts of the world, or maybe all parts of the world, wouldn't be able to survive.

It just is what it is, people. You may not carry the gene to repel mosquitoes, but you might carry the gene to repel aids, or malaria, or whatever else.

I am allergic to bites and stings, and I tend to be a buffet for most insects. I have had doctors tell me it is my blood type and others tell me it is the sent my body produces via hormones/pheromones etc.

Perfumes and hair products that I wear can attract them, foods I eat can attract them, the type of tooth paste I use can attract them via breath when outside and breathing, uhh duh one must breathe everywhere. I am sick of being told it's this or that. I usually stay indoors to keep from being bitten up and this really cramps my social life and fitness.

I am fed up with the little stinkers. I have some

other choice words but know I should not use them here. I have tried repellents, medication, sprays, lotions, home remedies,organic solutions, and nothing seems to work.

I am supposed to go on a camping trip this coming holiday weekend and I am scared to death about the outcome of what is going to happen. It is above 98 degrees here and I can't walk around all day in double sets of clothing just to protect my body. A body that is so scarred up from bites it looks disgusting.

Will they ever come up with something that will truly work, and/or find out what the real cause is for the attraction of these critters? I don't know but I am tired of itching and hurting just because I want to go outside during the summer months. Sorry to rant here, just sharing my experiences. Signed: Bug Buffet

I decided to research "never get bug bites" because I never get bit by mosquitoes and wanted to know why. For example, my sister and I slept with a large window open (no screen) and when we woke up she was covered in bug bites and I didn't have any. And I was even closer to the window than she.

anon102571Post 107

I don't take any meds regularly,(A.D.D. occasionally and allergy rarely) so the meds that you take (@106) don't have anything to do with it. I've heard that its a mental thing also, but maybe not.

anon101379Post 106

I don't think mosquito attraction has anything to do with what I've read on this post. I'm a blood type A, low core temp (97.5, excessive sweating).

When my wife and I are on our deck at dusk, she is eaten alive while I stand in wonderment about the bugs because I don't get bit and I don't even see or hear them.

In the past 10 years, I have not had a single mosquito bite or a single tick get on my body.

The only explanation that I can think of is that I take a lot of medication. One or more of those meds are repelling the bugs. More research is needed.

anon100120Post 105

Garlic works amazingly against mosquitoes. My mum uses these little allicin capsules which seem to work. (Allicin being the stuff inside garlic that the mozzies don't like.) Funny really. I seem to remember other stories about bloodsuckers who don't like garlic.

anon99734Post 104

I hate those bites. I run a lower body temp (norm for me 97.4) and I am constantly being bitten by no see ums and mosquitoes. The bites itch so bad, all I do is scratch and of course, have marks/scabs as a result.

Skin so Soft seems to work sometimes as well as the new clip on. Those bugs even bite me through my clothes! Ouch!

anon98994Post 102

I'm not sure about the sweating thing drawing the mosquitoes. I don't sweat nearly as much as other people as I must have a lower body core temperature. The heat doesn't bother me as much as it does other people but the bugs chew me up. I have some spray made with the essential oils and it works pretty good. It's called Dschungel Juice by NutriBiotic.

anon97209Post 101

i think it depends on how much sugar you have in your body.because if i go out side after say drinking a lot of Kool aid i get bitten like crazy but if I don't have anything sugary then i almost never get bit. so i would just recommended trying to have a little less sugar if you eat or drink a lot sugary foods.

males are the ones that buzz around your ear, not females. only females need blood. Now that is all you need to know.

anon94680Post 99

I don't think blood type has anything to do with it, but for the record, I'm A-. What we were wondering about on this camping trip is this: my husband is a total sporto (he's built like He-Man) and didn't get a single bite. The rest of us were eaten alive. Is it a coincidence?

anon93134Post 98

Does your blood type affect skeeters to come after you? My blood type is O negative. Every day i wake up with at least 4-6 new skeeter bites.

anon93053Post 97

i am glad some people read some of the older posts about the vicks vapor rub.

amypollickPost 96

@Anon92620: If only. I never eat bananas and I'm a skeeter buffet. Maybe it works for some people.

@anon92665: Try the clip on OFF! It really does work for me. When I go outside, I have exactly the same experience as you. I went outside for five minutes this afternoon to water some plants and had no fewer than 10 land on me. I sprayed them off with the hose. Heh Heh.

My blood type is O positive, so I don't think that has a thing to do with it. My hubby is A positive and has been bitten, maybe, once in the 14 years we've been married.

When I walk outside, the skeeters say, "Look! It's the all

-you-can eat buffet! Lunch!" And my bites swell up, too. However, the clip-on OFF! has really worked for me. It's kind of pricey, but worth it to me to be able to get out in the yard a bit without having to spray stinky insect repellent on me. I just clip the OFF! thing to my pocket, turn it on and go about my business. I really do highly recommend it for anyone who is a skeeter smorgasbord.

I definitely attract mosquitoes like I am covered in sugar water. I have since I was very small. My husband and kids can spend hours outside without a bite, and I will have dozens.

The worst part of it is, I am allergic to the bites so I end up with these massive itchy lumps. They even bite through my clothes. They are relentless when it comes to me. I was also told blood type has nothing to do with it, but it seems like a lot of type A positives such as myself have this problem. Weird coincidence?

I need some advice! I am tired of rotting inside all summer!

anon92620Post 94

If you are eating bananas they are automatically attracted to the scent bananas create in your body. Eliminating bananas from your diet should solve the problem.

anon92111Post 93

i absolutely hate mosquitoes. These are one of the worst insects i have ever come across from. No matter where i go or how long i stay, i get bitten. Even at night when I'm only out for five minutes. I love traveling to tropical areas but i always have the fear of getting bitten by mosquitoes. i even got bitten by some in japan -- and that is so rare. I have blood type A so really I'm not sure if that affects anything, but still.

anon91419Post 92

This year I tried applying New Skin antiseptic liquid bandage to my bites and surprisingly it works better than anything I ever used. It eliminated my biggest problem of wanting to scratch the bites which only makes the bites worse and delays the healing process.

If I can't stop them from biting me, then hopefully this will continue to relieve the agony.

anon91372Post 91

I also do not believe blood type is a factor. My sister and I are the same blood type.

Last night at her house I was bitten eight times in her yard. She has never been bitten there, and no one else who was present was even aware of the mosquitoes.

I am also a magnet for ticks. A repellent with 40 percent DEET did not stop me from getting nine ticks on a recent camping trip. I have an allergic reaction to all insect/arachnid bites (yes, spiders, too).

anon90937Post 89

I've been getting bit all week and I came on here and read about trying the Vicks Vapour Rub and today I went out and didn't get not one bite-awesome. You have to use the "lotion" kind not the greasy kind. Thanks.

anon89710Post 88

today i was fixing my bike i saw a mosquito on my leg. i hit myself really hard. my mother's friend was there and he was not getting bit one time, then the next second i got bit on the back of my leg, then on the arm. when are these things going to die?

anon88948Post 87

I am always the one getting bit everywhere I go. Since I live in the south and there's wet areas the mosquitoes are really bad here.

It seems every time I go to the creek or to someone's house near the river I am always getting bit. No one else gets bit but me.

I wear perfume so that could be the number one reason why. I think it has something to do with my blood type as well.

I am majorly and majorly allergic to any type of fly or bee that stings me. I swell really bad even if an ant bites me. It's terrible and the itching seems to never stop for days.

anon88790Post 86

Mr. VanDemark from the Queens Spy Shop says that he doesn't get bit my mosquitoes. The body emits a smell that the mosquito doesn't like. Doesn't mean the body stinks or it's funky, it's just that some body's have a better masking odors which act as better repellent than others.

anon88555Post 85

I read somewhere people who are bitten the most give off more carbon dioxide than others and that's why mosquitoes are drawn to us. I would love to find out how to lower my carbon dioxide levels! LOL. I have been eaten up by mosquitoes my whole life--from childhood to mid-50s.

I do find now that if I take an antihistamine after I'm bitten the itching stops (until the med wears off). That sure helps not to develop the welts and scabs that scar my arms and legs.

I think the folks who posted that others are bitten but just don't react allergically are correct. I will get bitten by anything (even gnats!) And always a big reaction.

anon88395Post 84

What you eat has an influence on how your body sweat smells. If you eat things like garlic, your sweat will smell like garlic.

anon87893Post 83

oh yes, my arms are always bitten by mosquitoes.

it is so annoying! once, i had six mosquito bites on my arm and my aunt who sat next to me was not bitten at all! oh, i hate mosquitoes!

anon87794Post 82

Mesquite smoke works the best.

anon87411Post 81

I have never been bitten by a mosquito. I find this curious, which is what led me to this site. As I'm writing this I have three mosquitoes sitting on my body, but they aren't biting! I am severely anemic, and wondering if that has anything to do with this.

anon86663Post 80

I don't think it has much to do with how much you sweat. I sweat very little and got 40 mosquitoes last night. My boyfriend, who perspires a lot more than I do, got not one single bite! And that's always the case with us.

anon85058Post 79

I'm pretty shocked about people's disbelief about malaria rates in the rest of the world. Fair enough: rates have gone down to about 800,000-900,000 per year now. But malaria still exists and is still a very real threat in tropical/third world regions.

anon84580Post 78

to the people above, I really think that blood type is completely irrelevant. I have A+ and get bit by every mosquito around.

anon84334Post 76

Malaria does kill millions each year. Open your eyes, people. Malaria isn't as big of a thing in the USA but around the world, 300-500 million people get malaria a year, causing millions of deaths each year. One source I read, said that two million people died from Malaria in 2006 alone. Just in Africa.

anon84100Post 75

why don't anybody try vicks vapor rub? i tell you a fishing buddy puts it on and he has no bites.

anon82436Post 73

yeah, I went to a huge bonfire once and the mosquitoes still got me being next to the fire, wearing three layers of clothing, a hoodie and my hands were covered and in between my layers I sprayed with DEET. I still managed to get 37 mosquito bites! It's not just the itching that sucks, its the welts, the scratching which causes scabs and scars and not being able to shave my legs because they are covered in them and I will cut them. Ugh! I love the outdoors too but nothing has worked. I tried garlic supplements, B vitamin complex, Listerine in a bottle, those stupid clip on OFF! things, layers of clothing, candles etc.

anon81677Post 72

I have never been bitten by a mosquito.

anon81118Post 71

"Malaria is the cause of millions of deaths every day..."

Think I'll get my facts elsewhere!

anon80118Post 70

They do not like marmite.

anon79845Post 69

Every time I go somewhere with even the slightest bit of mosquitoes, I'd always get bitten. My parents, siblings and friends seem oblivious to the fact that the mosquitoes are even there! It really stinks.

anon78442Post 68

I'm having mosquito bites too all over my arm its so annoying as i have 0- blood too. it attracts me more than my partner who is just B- weird.

anon78376Post 67

Reading all these comments I also believe that people who sweat a lot are more likely to get bitten than those that do not. Sweat emits a smell which attracts mosquitoes -- it's that simple.

Five years ago six friends and I went on holiday together, and the only people who got bitten were the people who perspired the most. gutted for me!

anon75798Post 66

I am one who is always "complaining" about bug bites too. I absolutely hate them! I have O neg blood type (but so does my dad who never gets bitten) and a usually low blood pressure (his is high).

One funny story: I'm sure you've all heard of those "Nature guys/survivors" who go out into extreme wildlife areas and survive for a couple weeks. One of the more famous ones, who has "done it all", decided to try out South GA. He lasted but a couple days before he gave up; he said he way under-estimated this one, "Nothing but mosquitoes and turtles there!"

I live in South GA and not only are the mosquitoes bad, but the "sand gnats

" are insane! All kinds of little bugs on the beach bite me too (little, almost microscopic, orange-red bugs). No one else ever notices them.

I guess I am really sensitive to bug bites and no doubt attract them. Never really itch too much, and not long afterwards the bite is completely healed. Just the initial bite sucks!

One thing that really works, and the only thing that has ever worked for me, is the Active Off. Other Off products I've tried suck, but the one in the orange bottle works. Oh yeah, and it has to be the tin can bottle, I've tried the mini one, still called Active Off, in the plastic bottle; it sucks.

But I spray a lot on at a time, and even though it is sweat resistant, I have to reapply every two hours or so. Plus it gets expensive! But, literally, if I don't spray every single part of myself, them d**n bugs find it and bite. Makes fishing almost impossible.

I hate bugs. I hate bugs, really more than anything I can think of right now. Well I hate the fact that they can bite.

I hate mosquitoes. They are so annoying they always seem to come and bite me -- no one else, just me and to make the matters worse I'm allergic to mosquito bites. Once i got 10 bites on my arm, three bites on my leg and one bite on each ankle.

anon74402Post 64

let me tell you what works for me. when i smell clean, the mosquitoes bite me bad but when i have bad body odor (I found this out from working outside in 80 degree weather and sweating) the mosquitoes stay away from me.

anon74382Post 63

i constantly get bit. i used to have scabs all down my legs and i would say "Why are mosquitoes even important" be cause they just make me itch and itch. summer is coming so i guess i get more mosquitoes.

anon64584Post 62

i tell you a fishing buddy of mine says vicks vapor rub works.

anon64193Post 61

Mosquitoes love me. I have tried natural products containing eucalyptus and lemongrass oils. I have tried skin so soft, as well as dryer sheets and basil. Nothing works for me, except avoidance to the outdoors mainly after 3 p.m. I cannot use the harsh chemical as I have experienced neurological disorders in my life.

Any suggestions from other mosquito blood bankers?

anon62993Post 60

I'm one of those people who gets bitten by mosquitoes, and not only bitten but I'm allergic they become like massive welts on me.

It's strange because for the last couple of summers i didn't get bit at all, all of a sudden this summer, I'm like bite central. So i want to know how that works, why sometimes i don't get touched and then sometimes i get so many mosquito bites it's absolutely insane.

When i get mosquito bites, what i do is get a can of body spray and hold it close to the mosquito bite and just spray for a while. It sort of freezes them.

anon58426Post 59

Listerine was originally a floor cleaner. It is the original "chemical looking for a purpose". So, if you use it as mouth wash or mosquito repellent the manufacturers will be happy. I doubt you should drink it though.

oldman39040Post 58

vicks vapor rub works. a fishing buddy uses it and it works for him.

oldman39040Post 57

My mother and i have a natural repellent. We rarely get bitten by mosquitoes or fleas where as people around us are ate up. We grew up on a farm in rule Mississippi.

I cannot wear a watch of any kind. They will lose time and after a week or two stop working.

anon50806Post 56

I am skeptical about the idea that some people just never get bitten. I think it's more likely that some people just don't react allergically to the bite. Like most people have eaten a peanut, but it only gives an allergic reaction to some, and in a few it's literally deadly. There must be some kind of antibody. Wish I had it!

anon47293Post 55

I am very, very tasty! If there is one mosquito in a room of 100 people, I will be bitten 50 times. My neighbor is in a family of four. Only two of them get bitten. They have found a great repellent: me! I walk next door and they swarm me. I was standing there with blood dripping on both of my lower legs. I have become very fearful of mosquitos. I can avoid a snake, but I am terrified of mosquitos. I have ordered a personal electronic device the emits a sound that they don't like.

anon46080Post 54

This is the only reason why I prefer to turn on the air conditioner at night. Once I turn off the air conditioner and use the fan instead, I will find the next batch of mosquito bites the next morning. Will have to try the insect repellant.

anon44116Post 53

I recently returned to the Caribbean to live and the mosquitoes are killing me and no one else! It's frustrating! lol. If I cover my body, they attack my face, so I have to leave my hands out so that they distribute their venom! I am going to try eating more garlic (as a few persons claimed this works). We'll see how this goes. -- Tasha

anon43835Post 52

I am very much bitten by mosquitos. Once I was at a restaurant near the bushes and I was attacked by thousands of mosquitos. Even though I was wearing stockings,they kept biting me until I, at last, left the place. My friends were not avoided. I wonder. My blood type is B + and I am diabetic.

anon43833Post 51

isn't this article supposed to tell you *what* things actually work?

garlic is a great food to prevent them. in fact most spicy or hot foods are. make sure you get a good dosing of garlic bread before going out to mosquito areas and you're cool.

garlic is also effective on other blood suckers, fleas, ticks, and even the mythical vampires.

most pet shops sell "brewers yeast", which is basically a garlic powder that dogs and cats will eat. its best mixed into wet foods to make sure they eat it all. cheapest flea and tick repellent available and also has plenty of vitamins.

anon43832Post 50

I have found that Avon skin-so-soft spray works wonders for me. Also army surplus mosquito repellent. Comes in a little green bottle and lasts for several years. My husband always had this on hand. Don't have to use much and goes a long way. Must wash hands immediately after use.

anon43823Post 49

I have discovered over many years of being bitten while others are ignored that different things work on different people. The Skin-So-Soft bath oil and the Avon insect repellent work on me where the DEET didn't. You just have to find what works on you and stick with it.

anon43820Post 48

I used to not get bit. Then I would get bit a few years down the road. then a few more years and no bites. Still a diabetic, still type A+, still carnivore, still overweight, still the same color, still the same steak and potatoes person, explain that. Now there is a town in our little state where the mosquitoes are no respecters of persons. I have never met anyone there or going to or from or through there that didn't shake hands with a mosquito. they got one bite. even the trees got one bite. they check you to see if you are a tree -- they were tricked before. So every one gets patted down. like security.

anon43818Post 47

Malaria is the cause of millions of deaths every day?

anon43814Post 46

Hi. Just wanted to share: if you use non-perfumed and non-chemical peppermint soap, they won't bother you. Also sucking on peppermint candies can help.

anon43812Post 45

I can be in the farthest corner of the house and they seek me out. Always have. Skin-so-Soft does absolutely nothing. Burts Bee's seems to work but its too greasy. I try not to wear or use anything with a scent when I know I'll be outside. Not much luck.

anon43804Post 44

im not sure what blood type i am. but nothing, i mean nothing bites me. i have no problems with chiggers, deer flies, fleas, ticks or mosquitoes. i just decided that i must taste bad to them. i'm not a vegetarian, i eat about anything. i never use the same products for bath, etc.

anon43800Post 43

My grandmother came up with a home remedy for bug bites that works quite well. Buy a regular bottle of rubbing alcohol, a block of camphor gum (can be found at some pharmacies -- may have to look around though) and a bottle of generic aspirin. Usually the camphor gum comes in a little block with four circles or squares connected together to make a 2-inch square block. Put half the block and 20 aspirin into the bottle of rubbing alcohol and shake it up, keep it in the fridge and keep shaking it up. it should eventually dissolve. you could try a pill crusher and cut up the camphor into smaller pieces for quicker effect but keep it refrigerated and the stuff works great.

anon43796Post 42

To annon37734: I've also tried Listerine. It didn't keep the mosquitoes away, but it did get me drunk as a skunk!

anon43783Post 39

Mosquitoes don't like me and neither do fleas. my blood type is B+ and I'm not a vegetarian but I eat very little mea. I can't eat a lot of certain fruits because I'm told my blood is acidic and it causes a slight rash. I always thought this was the reason I never got bit, but when I was around five years old, we were back east and my mother told me I was a mosquito feast, so who knows? Maybe we don't require that repellent as young children until we go through puberty, because now as an adult they avoid me like the plague.

anon43782Post 38

I get eaten alive by mosquitoes. My son and husband are immune to them. Hubby and I are the same blood type, he smokes, I don't. Maybe that's the difference? My kid doesn't smoke though so I don't think that nicotine has anything to do with it. I used After Bite for years and went through dozens of the tubes and they are not cheap! One day I had a particularly swollen bite on my neck and my neighbor suggested I use rubbing alcohol. It worked like a charm and I no longer itch myself crazy when bitten. The rubbing alcohol takes the sting out instantly and a fraction of the price in comparison to After Bite. The Avon "Skin

So Soft" stuff doesn't work on me and its a real pain in the butt to be applying oil all the time. Neither does their bug spray work very well either. Off doesn't work on me. I have tried every bug spray on the market and nothing works for more than a day or two at a time and I have to switch to something else. Someone told me to try vitamin B-complex - I took it for years on end and it didn't work much. I have also tried B-1 this year and it didn't help either. I have been told to try tea tree oil and will give that a try when I get to the health shop.

I'm scared because I don't know if I'm just lucky to have never been bitten. I have quite low blood oxygen due to asthma and thalassaemia trait, and mosquitos don't even come near me, but I don't know if it's down to luck or if I do repel them.

anon39809Post 36

My mother and I both do not get bitten by mosquitoes, and when we wear watches, the batteries will die in a matter of weeks, maybe two months at most. Just wondering if any of the other people who don't get bit by mosquitoes also have this odd problem? She claims that it is from growing up in New Mexico near nuclear test sites, but i think she is just kidding (i hope).

We eat pretty different diets (she has celiac disease, i have no food allergies). i used to smoke, she never did, she takes vitamins and i don't.

anon39095Post 35

I am one of the ones who have never had a mosquito bite. For some reason they have never bitten me. I grew up in GA were mosquitos abound, but I've never been bitten. Even if a mosquito lands on my skin, I haven't been bitten. I can feel them when they land and brush them off. Blessed!

anon38567Post 34

I am the one in the group who gets the bites too. the best way to stop the itch is to dip a cloth into boiling water or really, really hot water and dab the bite. it takes the itch away in seconds. hot water acts as an anti-inflammatory and it draws what was injected into the skin to the surface. give it a try, trust me it works!

anon37734Post 33

my grand parents swear by listerene in a spray bottle

anon37212Post 32

Wow, this was really helpful! Not only did it sort of explain why I'm bitten *so* often, while others around me don't get bitten at all, but I'm going to go out ASAP and buy this After Bite I keep reading about! Nothing else seems to work for me. Thanks!

anon36596Post 31

Because mosquitoes have always found me tasty since I was 3 years old (Blood Type B - carnivore/diabetic), I now use After Bite itch eraser (found at the drugstore) along with wearing long pants/long sleeves whenever I know I'll be standing around outside for any extensive period of time. I make sure the material doesn't cling to my body (or else mosquitoes will bite me through my clothes) and brighter colors if there's sunshine so I don't overheat. Scratching leaves scars (I scar dark), so if I can't squeeze the clear fluid out of the bite, rubbing the After Bite on it will work. Face it, some of us are just tasty :)

anon35690Post 30

Mosquitoes love me, even since I was a toddler. I'm a vegan and have O blood type. My mother has the same blood type, but does not get bitten up like me. I am bitten up right now by mosquitos, I'm really itchy.

anon35614Post 29

Yes After Bite really works! I bought mine at Wal Mart.I get eaten alive when I go out to my backyard. My son does too. We really hate it; my son swells up badly! Off and all those bug sprays don't work on us.I also heard that mosquitoes don't like a brand from Avon called Skin-So-Soft. I bought it; I think it works OK.

anon35280Post 28

This is great. I never get bit while everyone around me does. I'm also an A blood type and vegetarian, and was bit as a child, maybe before I really had body odor to repel. But I've read that the A positive blood type gets bit less and the O the most.

anon35236Post 27

I haven't been bitten by a mosquito in about ten years or more--not once. They land on me and then move on. I have used Vaseline Intensive Care lotion for years and that is the only thing I can think of that may repel the mosquitoes.

anon35198Post 26

I too suffer from being the only one getting bit in groups. My inlaws like to say they're safe from bugs when near me, but even when they get bit they don't react like me. For some reason anti-itch creams have never really worked for me. If you can o.d. on a cortizone cream, I'm like way overdue for that.

I found a product in Montreal that works wonders for me. It's called After Bite - The Itch Eraser which is a a slow releasing liquid applicator that you dab on the bite. It's been very helpful because I swell up like crazy and itching creams do nothing so to stop the itch I have to scratch my limb off

till I'm scarred. The After Bite for once actually controls a big majority of the itching and it makes a lot of the swelling go down quickly. Thought I'd pass it on. If you can't find it I'm sure you can order it online.

All I seem to read is people getting bit! I have *never* been bit so I'm happy :) if you lot read the article, it says it doesn't always work but it depends on the odor that you give off "naturally". I always thought I never got bit because I had *bad* blood but obviously not. I recently got off holiday and I slept in between my mum who was furthest from the window and my brother who was closet to the window and they got bit to hell by the mosquitoes, why didn't I get bit even though I was in the middle -- because I am a *natural mosquito repellent!* :)

anon34109Post 24

its aggravating cause i have like beautiful skin during the winter, but have to cover it all up! so during the summer i get bit...even under a pair of pants some kind of bug can somehow find me. when i was little i remember i couldn't walk in the grass let alone outside without having bugs swarm around me. there was one point in a summer where i couldn't see my ankle due to bites on me. darn sweet body odors!

anon34042Post 23

I'm pretty sure sweat and moist skin are big attractants to mosquitoes. I have very moist skin and overly active sweat glands and the mosquitoes simply cannot get enough of me. I went camping with my girlfriend last year by a lake. She had little to no mosquito bites at all by the end of it. I was literally covered from head to toe. I had well over a hundred.. no exaggeration. This year we went camping in a place with less mosquitoes. In spite of eating many cloves of garlic and drenching myself in deet i was still bit many times (although not as many as the last time.. I'm guessing it had a lot to do with there being less mosquitoes).

anon26638Post 21

Hello Dig21445,

So what is the name of the product you keep

saying is so great?

I'm sure most of us here would like to get it as well.

Thanks.

anon25680Post 20

Long sleeves and long pants, repellent on my skin *and* clothes, on holiday in NZ, and I currently have bites covering my entire body. I stopped counting at 100+! What gets me is the instant welts, inevitable pus and scabs and the disfiguring scars I am left with. I *hate* being a mosquito magnet! Wearing a short skirt is now out for this summer...

PahrumpianPost 19

I was trying to find why insects bite me so much more than other people, not just mosquitoes. I am sometimes viciously attacked by flies in general, but most insects bite me. Even ones you wouldn't consider biting insects like fruit flies and those hoppers (that's what we call them) that live in the grass.

I truly believe it has something to do with my blood as I've liberally sprayed myself with insect repellent with the most Deet I could find with little success.

One downside to getting bit so much while others are relatively bite-free is that people tend to think you are imagining you are getting bit.

It's hard to explain that you are currently getting bit by

a fly when they see no flies around because it is a No-See-Um (baby fly) that is biting you. With years of frustration I have finally convinced people close to me that I'm not imagining it at all and I am getting bit quite often.

Fortunately, I don't have problems with mosquitoes as I live in the desert. But believe it or not after living here several years and having never seen a mosquito here I actually have had seen a few in recent years and somehow they find me.

I used to get bitten previously; however, since I have been taking the vitamin/mineral supplements from a BodyWise Company (mail order) they do not bite me at all. In fact I have watched them actually land on me and put their mouth? (word) down to me and pull away without biting me!! Are you sure it is not to do with Vitamin or Mineral intake?

anon17573Post 17

This weekend, my family held a barbecue for labor day. Nobody even realized there *were* mosquitoes until they looked at me. My legs, arms, and even fingers were *covered* in giant bites, while the rest of the group was untouched, with the exception of *one* bite on *one* other person.

The worst part of it is that no matter how many layers of clothing I wear, or how much bug spray I put on, I'm *always* the one to get bitten up. Argh!

anon15810Post 15

Okay, well basically this research doesn't apply to me and my step mom. Both of us are neither diabetic, overweight (to any degree, together we weigh in at about 220 pounds), we are not pregnant, we don't have a high cholesterol level, and when you say we should stay around friends who don't get bitten, well that's pretty false because then they'll just go on you instead! All the mosquito repellent candles, products in general, don't work on us. We have been to many doctors and they all don't know why they are specially attracted to us. We think that there is something in our blood, or blood type, like if there is a pill we could take, or a certain drug/ vitamin we could take, we would be all over it.

anon13699Post 12

I would like to know what site to log onto to find the Best Yet mosquito repellent, as mentioned on your site. I need some of that stuff. I have asthma and am allergic to most of those things that are in stores, to spray on. If this stuff can be put on babies, surely I could use it. Please let me hear from you. Thanks, N.F.

anon12718Post 11

Very helpful article thank you. I get bitten too much even after I spray myself with mosquito repellent, and even over my clothes as well. I guess I smell like mosquito food.

minombrePost 10

I always get way more bites than whomever I'm with. On a trip to a beach Thailand, I slept in the same room as two other family members. The morning after our first night there I counted 34 bites (literally), my brother had 4 bites and my mother had 2 bites. We were astonished. I was always told the old wives reason why mosquitoes bite some people more than others -- people with sweet blood get bitten more! ;)

sonia99Post 9

I always wondered why some people are bitten more than others. Good article. I also get bitten quite frequently especially when I travel abroad to tropical places. I often use sprays with deet or mosquito wristbands that repell the buggers. You can get a wristband at most drug stores or dept stores.

dlg21445Post 7

The Company that makes the product BEST YET is in Texas. They have a huge website and a online store. I spent 4 hours in the site reading testimonials and researching the different technologies they have invented. It appears to me they have some of the Best Kept Secrets in the Industry. Unfortunately they are not a public company or I would own a piece of them tomorrow. It will link to all of the other sites they have. As to the BEST YET product, we found that when used on the animals it will kill the fleas and ticks instantly. Never saw anything like this in my life. When you spray it, the fleas fall off the dogs dead

before it ever hits them. The Press Release claims it freezes the insects because the reaction to the solution makes them close all of the body pores they breathe through. Now think about that for a moment. When reading the Testimonials I find that the hotels are now using it to control the bedbug problems that is mammoth throughout the world. I can see why. It is really a neat product.

I have not had a bug bite of almost any kind in the last 20 years and have often wondered why, so i found this article very interesting - I have also noticed that most perfumes don't smell as good on me as they do others - I am assuming this is for the same reason - INTERESTING

beach4djPost 5

so where do you buy this Best Yet repellent - sounds great

dlg21445Post 1

I found out from the USDA that there is a new mosquito product on the market. It was created by a company in Texas. They made it for the Army and the Middle East soldiers. It has the highest bio content of any of the 10 tested by Iowa State who was commissioned to do the study for the US Government. It is really a neat product. Made from melted quartz rock and cedar oil. Will last all day long, 12 hours they say. Feels really good on the skin and will not burn under the army uniforms like DEET. Will not affect the nervous system like DEET. Can be used on babies and animals. I ordered some and tried it. I know why the Army wanted it. It really is the Best Yet. That is what they call it.

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